News of the Week: Annoying Commercials, a CosMc Character, and the Wrong Way to Eat a Croissant

Random Thoughts

I’m so glad August is almost over. It’s my second-least-favorite month. If I were to rate them from best to worst, it would go like this: November, December, October, September, January, February, March, April, June, May, August, July.

What is going on with Conan O’Brien’s voice in those SiriusXM ads? Why does he suddenly sound like one of Marge Simpson’s sisters?

Speaking of commercials, I’ve had this song stuck in my head every day for the past 6 weeks (and now so will you).

More proof we don’t need articles written by A.I. Microsoft has had to delete an article that suggested tourists visiting an Ottawa food bank should visit “on an empty stomach.”

LEGO is moving its North American headquarters to Boston! I was hoping they would build their new offices out of those colorful bricks but, alas, that won’t be the case.

Last night I tried to cook a couple of chicken fingers. The directions said how long to cook them but not how many to cook for that time. So cooking two of them for 15 minutes is the same as cooking the entire bag of 20 for 15 minutes? (They were not good.)

Words and phrases I wish would make a comeback: malarkey, the bee’s knees, nincompoop, and scram.

A lot of cars drive by my house blasting music out of their speakers. Why isn’t it ever good music?

What Time Do You Eat Dinner?

I’ll agree that 4 or 4:30 p.m. might be a little early for dinner, but 6 or 7? That’s called “when most Americans have always had dinner.”

Uploaded to YouTube by TODAY.

(Side note: when I was a kid we always called it “supper.”)

You’re Doing It Wrong

One of my least favorite internet memes is the “you’re doing it wrong” meme. That’s when people — sometimes experts! — tell us that the thing we’ve been doing for years with no problems is actually the wrong way of doing that thing. Are you an adult still putting ketchup on a hot dog? You’re doing it wrong! Eating spaghetti with a fork and spoon? You’re doing it wrong! Washing your clothes? You’re doing it wrong!

Now it looks like we’ve all been eating croissants wrong, according to a British etiquette expert. You’re not supposed to put butter on them, you’re not supposed to use a knife to open them, and oh my God why are you dipping them in your coffee?

If you listen to people like this, you’re doing it wrong.

CosMc

In early 2024, McDonald’s will be testing a new kind of restaurant called “CosMc.” I don’t know what the restaurants will be like exactly, but there was a character in TV commercials in the late 1980s named CosMc, which appears to have been some sort of big bug inside a robot suit.

Something I Learned This Week

I was familiar with the classic Zenith Space Command TV remote, and I love the simplicity of its design, especially since I now have four remote controls on my coffee table. But what I didn’t realize until reading an article at The Verge was that it worked without the use of batteries or infrared. Can you guess how it worked?

RIP Ron Cephas Jones, Ray Hildebrand, David Jacobs, John Warnock, Michael Parkinson, Nancy Frangione, Al Quie, and Lolita

Ron Cephas Jones won two Emmys for his role on the NBC drama This Is Us. He also appeared on such shows as Truth Be Told, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Luke Cage, and Mr. Robot and was nominated for a Tony. He died last week at the age of 66.

Ray Hildebrand was the male half of the duo Paul & Paula (the female half was Jill Jackson), known for their No. 1 hit “Hey, Paula” as well as “Young Lovers” and “First Quarrel.” He died last week at the age of 82.

David Jacobs created the CBS soaps Dallas and Knot’s Landing. He also produced and wrote for many other shows and started his career writing for magazines. He died Sunday at the age of 84.

John Warnock was the co-founder of Adobe. He died Saturday at the age of 82.

Michael Parkinson was a longtime British talk show host. He’s also one of the celebrities featured on the cover of the Wings album Band on the Run. He died last week at the age of 88.

Nancy Frangione played Cecile on Another World and also had roles on All My Children, One Life to Live, and The Nanny. She died last week at the age of 70.

Al Quie was a former congressman from Minnesota and governor of the state from 1979 to 1983. He died last week at the age of 99.

Lolita was the oldest-living orca whale in captivity. She died last week at the age of 57.

This Week in History

Voyager 2 Launched (August 20, 1977)

It was almost lost last month, but here’s how engineers got it back.

Norrmalmstorg Bank Robbery (August 23, 1973)

The hostage crisis at a bank in Stockholm bank introduced the phrase “Stockholm Syndrome” to the lexicon.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Zenith Space Command (August 24, 1957)

 

You could use this to mute those commercials I mentioned above.

More Ways to Eat Croissants

Sally’s Baking Addiction has a classic recipe for Homemade Croissants, while Inspired Taste tells you how to make 30-Minute Chocolate Croissants using store-bought puff pastry (if you don’t want to go to all of the hassle of making them from scratch). And Insanely Good Recipes has ideas for 23 different croissant sandwiches, including a Turkey BLT, a Dill Pickle Chicken Salad, and a Hot Ham and Swiss.

Don’t worry, all of these recipes are fine ways to eat croissants, until an expert comes along and tells you otherwise.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Little League World Series Championship (August 27)

ABC will have the game starting at 3 p.m. ET.

U.S. Open Starts (August 28)

The last major tennis tournament of the year will air daily on ESPN and ESPN 2. Every morning at 9 a.m., Tennis Channel will have highlights and analysis.